Dr Barham Salih said the actions of Islamic trouble-makers we tolerate here would be illegal back in his country.[>

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And he said he was not surprised we faced a threat from home-grown militants after witnessing shocking scenes as he toured mosques over here.[>

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The respected politician made his damning comments to the Tories’ shadow Culture Secretary Tobias Ellwood during a dinner party in Baghdad.[>

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Mr Ellwood, 41, told how Dr Salih, 47, had visited mosques in Blackburn during a visit to Britain before the last General Election.[>

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And he said the shocked Iraqi told the MP: “I am not surprised that you British are facing so many problems with extremists after what I saw in those mosques in Blackburn. [>

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“What I saw would not be allowed here in Iraq – it would be illegal.”[>

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Mr Ellwood told MPs in a terrorism debate in Parliament: “That is a shocking indictment of what is going on in some mosques in the UK.[>

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“Many Muslims in Britain want to live peacefully and happily under the British rule of law. But hearing that from another Muslim, who is a leader from a Muslim country, summed up the situation in the UK.”[>

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Mr Ellwood – whose brother Jon, 39, was killed by al-Qaida in the 2002 Bali bombings – added: “I do not believe these comments can be dismissed out of hand. I was absolutely shocked. [>

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“He went inside the mosques and said literature he saw would be illegal. He was quite clear.”[>

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Among Britain's most controversial mosques was Finsbury Park in north London, which was raided by anti-terrorism police in 2003. [>